I'll Never Let Go
by ThePotterGeek
Summary: Rose decides not to let go of Jack's hand, but she keeps her promise by saving them both. She didn't let go, but will Jack survive? Complete.
1. Bravery and Freedom

Hey people! I think I have ADD, which might account for the fact that every week I must start a new story. Or something like that. So this is a new story. Whoop de doo.

**Luke… I am… Your father… Actually, I'm not. I'm just an imposter. So I don't get sued, I DON"T OWN TITANIC.**

**--**

Rose barely noticed the light the first time it flashed. When it shone in her vision the second time, she saw it. Stopping her song in the middle, she turned her head towards it. A man was holding a flashlight, moving it around to look for survivors from the sinking. Him and his little rowboat.

For a moment this meant nothing to Rose. Her slowly freezing brain took awhile to register the fact that this boat would save Jack and her. Once it did, she turned back on her stomach and whispered- for that was all her voice was allowing her to do- "Jack, there's a boat!" He didn't stir. She shook the hand that was holding hers so tightly. "Jack, there's a boat, Jack!" Realizing why he wasn't responding, she choked, and put her head on his hand, wanting to die here with him. But then she remembered… _"You have to promise me that you'll survive."_ That she would.

"Come back!" Rose cried, but it was hopeless. Nobody could hear her. Rose knew she had to keep her promise to Jack… but not alone.

Looking desperately around for anything that could save them, she spotted the dead officer with a whistle in his mouth. He was their only chance.

She slid off the door, dragging Jack along with her. Had she not had the lifebelt on, he would have surely dragged her under; yet even as it was, it was a struggle to keep her head above the numbing water. The few feet to the deceased crewmember seemed the hardest struggle of her life. Finally she reached him, Jack still with her. Summoning up all the strength and breath she had left, she snatched the whistle out of his mouth and blew.

This they heard. "Come about!" the man with the light shouted. Rose had no idea what that meant. All she knew was that they were coming; she would live, and Jack would have a chance.

It surprised them that Rose weighed so much; they fought to lift her from the water. When they saw what was holding her down, they tried to make her let go of him. One thing about Rose was that she was very stubborn; she would have her way, especially now. "No, please, try to save him! Please!" She couldn't lose him now, not after all they'd been through.

"It's all right, miss, we'll do the best that we can."

For the first time in what felt like hours, Rose smiled. "That's all I can ask of you, isn't it?"

"Yes, miss."

The conversation ended there. The men hoisted Jack into the boat, and lay him next to Rose, who did her best to warm him, as she heated up herself. Both were covered in blankets. "You're going to be part of my promise. You're not going to die now, I won't let you. I'll never let go of you, Jack."

--

The rest of the night was spent with Rose drifting in and out of consciousness. Jack still hadn't woken, but none of the crewmen said anything to the woman who seemed so intent on saving him about how he would probably not live.

At dawn, a ship was visible. Rose opened her eyes to see it picking its way cautiously through the ice field to get to the survivors. When it finally came alongside them, Rose saw the name: _Carpathia_. A ladder was let down, and the former passengers of _Titanic_ pulled themselves up it, slowly, one by one. All seemed to be in a daze, as if they couldn't believe this was happening to them.

When it was Rose's turn, she found she could barely make it to the ladder. One of the men in the boat helped her to it, and helped her up it. Once she was too high up for the man in the rowboat to help her, a man on the _Carpathia_ lent her a hand. Another blanket was put around her shoulders, and a mug of hot liquid pushed into her cold hands. She gulped it greedily, not caring that it was coffee, something she had not been allowed near before and wasn't entirely sure she liked. It was warm, and she savored the feeling.

"Were you in the water?" a man asked her.

She nodded, and was whisked off to an infirmary, where she was checked. Aside from slightly lower than normal body temperatures, she was fine. "You may have a bad cold for a few days," the nurse told her, "but it'll go away eventually. Keep drinking warm things and you'll be warmer and better in no time." Less cheerily she looked at Jack, who was in a bed. "He may not pull through, thought it was mighty brave of you, saving him."

"Will you notify me if anything changes?" she asked, needing to know whether he would get better or worse.

"Of course, ma'am. I'll send someone." Once the nurse was sure that she knew what she was supposed to do and had a blanket covering her whole person, she was free to go.

Surprised at how hungry she was, Rose left and went to find somewhere to eat. There was a cook ladling out hot soup to the survivors. Rose got on line, and stepped away once she got it, again swallowing it quickly. Almost immediately she felt herself warm up. With that in her stomach, Rose was full, and decided to go to where all the survivors were.

After she got directions to where the steerage and second-class passengers were, she walked there quickly. She felt that some sort of comfort would come out of being around other people who were in the same situation as her. As she was walking down the steps to the part of the deck where she could see people and their few belongings strewn about them, she felt someone behind her, trying to push in front of her. Since the stairway was not meant for two people to walk abreast, she simply quickened her pace. A crewman commented to the person behind her, "You won't find any of yours here, sir, they're all steerage and second class."

And Rose knew who was behind her; she almost stopped. "Go faster!" Cal said in a rude voice. Had he known it was her, he probably wouldn't have spoken like that. Not daring to speak or turn around, she finished her way down the steps, pulling her blanket higher so there was no chance of him seeing her hair.

Blankets apparently don't like to cooperate. It slipped, showing a bit of her red waves; yet it was enough. "Rose!" Cal exclaimed, tying to act as if the night before had never happened. "What are you doing here?" he asked, even though he already knew. "Come with me." He said it kindly, but it was still a command.

Rose lifted her head higher. "No." Cal looked shocked.

"What did you say?"

"I didn't think that there was anything wrong with your hearing. I said no. I won't come with you, I won't marry you. You will stay away from me, and you will never speak to me, or Jack, ever again. For he is not the gutter rat; you are." By now she was practically shouting. Heads turned in her direction. At the corner of her eye, Rose even saw a woman nodding in sympathy.

Cal tried to keep the situation under control. "Rose, you don't know what you're saying, that boy has driven you mad-"

"Mad, yes, maybe. I don't know. Maybe I was this crazy before. But you make me angry. You had better leave before I get even angrier and do something more drastic than spit in your eye. It's your choice whether or not whatever I can do stays within your imagination."

She began to walk away, knowing that she wouldn't be allowed to leave without a fight, physical or verbal. Choosing physical, Cal grabbed her arm.

"No!" he growled. Rose struggled; he was stronger than her. "I said no!" he stated, louder.

In that moment, Rose understood that she was at risk of losing her freedom and Jack forever. Inside herself, she found the strength to punch Cal off of her. Eventually he retreated, covering in blossoming bruises and a bleeding nose.

"You stay away from me," she murmured, loud enough for all around her to hear. Without a further invitation to run, he did so.

The crowd around Rose finally dispersed, with many officers yelling, "Move along, nothing to see here!" One man came up to her and asked if she was all right.

"I'm fine," she replied, touched by the man's courtesy. Yet she felt better than fine; she felt wonderful. Full of a sense of freedom and accomplishment and pride. _If only you could see me now, Jack,_ she thought sadly. She knew he'd be proud of her, yet he was unconscious, and she may never get to tell him. And all Rose could do was wait for news. She had no idea how long she'd been waiting when she fell asleep.

So do ya like??? Rose is NOT pregnant in this one, I specifically didn't want that. You'll see where I go with this if you keep reading. And reviewing!

**-Arnold-**


	2. Fear

Read. And Review. NOW!

**Don't own it.**

**--**

Rose became aware that someone was shaking her, trying their very best to wake her. When she opened her eyes, she saw a crewmember standing over her.

"Are you the woman who asked to be informed when a certain blonde man's condition changed?" he asked.

"Yes, I am."

He turned and led the way. Rose followed, still a bit groggy from being woken up, and completely disoriented, seeing as it was dark. "What time is it?"

"Ten o'clock. Sorry to wake you, though, we just thought that you'd like to know."

"Yes, thank you. What has changed?"

"Well, his body temperature rose until it was much higher than normal. But that wasn't anything we didn't expect. He had hypothermia, which means he was basically starting to freeze. We just have to keep him warm and hope for the best. His breathing has returned to normal, so there's a much bigger chance of him living."

Rose breathed a sigh of relief. Jack would probably be okay. She followed the man until he opened the door that she had been led through once the people on the ship knew she had been in the ocean. The infirmary struck Rose as very clean, and everything was white. She blinked several times before she adjusted to the severe lack of color.

A doctor walked over to her from Jack's bedside and introduced himself as Dr. William Jacobs. He was nice enough, explaining Jack's condition better than the crewman who brought her here had. Rose listened in a daze, her eyes never leaving her unconscious love's face. After a few minutes, Rose realized that the doctor had stopped talking. "Thank you for caring for him so well, sir."

"You're welcome. But had you not pulled him from the water, he would not be here. So when he wakes up, I'll tell him to thank you." Dr. Jacobs was smiling at her. Rose forced her lips to curve up a bit, so he wouldn't think she was frowning at him.

As she turned to leave, a nurse called out. "Wait!" When Rose turned, the woman, who Rose now recognized as the woman who checked her over, said, "I'm sorry, but I forgot to ask you the young man's name before you left the first time."

"Jack Dawson."

"Thank you."

Rose walked back to the deck, and found her sleeping spot almost immediately; it was one of the few such spaces that was vacant, for all the other benches and deck chairs were occupied by _Titanic_ survivors. Soon she was sound asleep, dreaming Jack's arms were around her.

Something felt strange to Rose: someone's arms _were_ around her, shaking her. Immediately after opening her eyes, she needed to close them due to sunlight; it had to have been nearing noon for the sun to be so strong.

"Rose…" a familiar voice whispered in her ear. She forced her eyes open and as they adjusted to the light, she made out Jack Dawson's shape. It took her a second to get her thoughts in order, and once she did, she threw her arms around his neck and held on for dear life. He hugged her back, just as hard, pulling her closer. When she pulled away to see his face, he kissed her before she could see anything. But there was something wrong with the face that she held in her hands.

"You're burning up!' she stated, startled.

"Yeah, I know I have to go back soon," he said in a rush. "They wouldn't have let me come, but I pleaded until they couldn't say no." At the thought of him begging, Rose grinned. His smile grew wider and he continued, "Rose… They told me what you did. I don't know what I did to deserve it, but-"

She put a hand to his mouth. "You saved me a hundred times over. All I was doing was returning the favor. And saving the man I love from death." Her smile faded. "I couldn't do it, Jack, I couldn't let you go, let you freeze to death-" She stopped herself, took a deep breath, and began again. "They told me what was wrong with you, and I couldn't stand it. It was terrible, you lying there, helpless like I've never seen you." She looked down, then back up into his eyes. Only when he saw what was in them did he realize how hard this had been for her. Kissing her head, he pulled her close. "It was like you were dead, and with all these people telling me how bad you were, you could have very well been so!" Finally, she succumbed to the tears; they fell like rain.

Jack held her close. "If you were afraid of my dying, think of what it did to me."

Rose looked up at his face, his arms still around her. "You, afraid of dying? Afraid of anything?"

Jack chuckled. "Not afraid of dying, afraid of losing you, Rose. Leaving you. I wouldn't be able to stand it if I had to wait for you."

"Wait for me to die, too, you mean." Rose was touched by this statement. Even though she knew he loved her, things had happened so fast, and rose had not been able to get her head around it, so simple things got to her.

Jack kissed her again and said, "I should be going back, or they'll send out a search party."

He left after holding her for a few more seconds, saying, "I'll find you, just don't go too far."

"I can't wander away from a place too long if you occupy it, Jack."

"Good."

Did you like it? I'm soooo sorry it took so long. I have so much on my mind. Plus, I'm tired right now. And you probably don't care. Whatever. Review!

**-Arnold-**


	3. The Statue

Omfg, I am sososososo sorry that this is taking so long. With schoolstarting and everything, I don't think I have a spare second to breathe… Thank God for weekends, eh? Which is probably only when you're gonna hear from me. Sorry to bust you bubble. But even then, not all my stories will be updated on Sundays. And it might take me a while to type it up. So sorry.

**I don't own **_**Titanic**_**. At all. By I may or may not kill the dude who does own it. But you weren't supposed to know that. **_**Obliviate!**_** Haha, now you all don't remember me telling you! Woo hoo! My plan will triumph and **_**Titanic**_** will be MINE!!**

**--**

Rose stared up at the Statue of Liberty in a way she had never looked at it before. This time she knew how immigrants felt, coming to the land of opportunities. The land of freedom. Rose was finally free. Not even the rain could dampen her spirits.

A man came up with a list, a pen, and an umbrella and said gently, "Can I take your name please, love?"

She turned to look at him, then back at the statue. "Dawson," she said, and the man wrote it. "Rose Dawson." It didn't matter that she still, legally, bore the name Rose DeWitt Bukator. It mattered even less that she was seventeen, and, according to rich people, 'associating with people below her rank.' She didn't care. Most people didn't believe in marrying for love anyway.

"Rose," said Jack from behind her. She turned around. One look at his face told her that he had heard. They put their arms around each other and together stared at the Statue of Liberty, the signal that they could live together and never be trifled with by Cal or Rose's mother, or anyone else.

"Welcome home, Jack," she whispered to him. Considering how much he had had in this country, how much he had lost, how much he loved it, and how long he had been away from it, he needed those words. In a way, Rose wasn't coming home at all. She was flinging herself willingly into a new life, with only herself and Jack to lead her. She trusted him to show her the way.

**--**

**I'm sorry this was so short. Next chapter: the amazing adventures of the most amazing couple alive! Cal and Ruth! No.. wait… that's not right… (yells to someone farther away, 'You messed up the subtitles!') Sorry 'bout that, it is really Jack and Rose! As you all knew it was. So… suck on that! Ow ow!**

**-Arnold- is going through some mental troubles so is using very stupid words. **


	4. Author's Note

Hi. (…) Okay. Wow. This is weird. I've never posted a chapter that's all Author's Note before. It's the sort of thing you're really not supposed to do, so me, being the goodie-two-shoes that I am, haven't violated the rule yet. Well, I guess I just don't care anymore. TAKE THAT, FANFICTION!!

**Anyway, I wanted to post this author's note to let you all know what's going on with this story. It dawned on me that I write **_**waaaay**_** too many of this kind of Titanic fic. You know, Jack lives sort of thing. Er, at least, I used to. The problem is, I start on one, then I lose interest. I try my best to keep going for my readers, but eventually it becomes too much, and I'm ending it. In case any of you've been counting, its been **_**two years**_** since I updated it. I don't think I ever will. (breathes out) There, I said it. I think it's time to cut this story loose. I like where I ended it. Maybe one day I'll write an epilogue or something.**

**Disappointed in me? Yeah, I am, too. I'm so… fickle. It bothers me. I guess that's why I have 45 stories up… I just get an idea and post it, but don't stick with it.**

I'm sorry to everyone who liked this story, and who asked me to update it. It's just… I'm dry. Sorry, guys. You can yell at me if you want. I won't mind. (Even if you don't want to, do it anyway. This is the only time I'll tolerate flames. Make good use of it. Go through all of my stories and yell at me for everything you didn't like. Go for it, man.)

-Arnold-


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